Twitter defied a U.S. government request for records that could identify users behind an account opposed to President Donald Trump account, and is challenging the order in court.

The company filed a lawsuit against the federal Department of Homeland Security and its Customs and Border Protection office, charging that their efforts to "unmask" the people behind the account violated the First Amendment.

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Twitter says its users have a constitutional right to disseminate such "anonymous and pseudonymous political speech."

The account in question is @ALT_uscis, a reference to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office. The account described its users to the Associated Press in February as employees and former employees of the agency.